Sunday, 2 August 2015

Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963)www.poulenc.fr expressed a
particular fondness for wind instruments; something which is clearly shown by
the number of works written for wind in various forms across his lifetime.

Indeed, his seven
works for wind instruments and piano that are included on a new release from
MSR Classicswww.msrcd.comdate from
between 1926 and 1962, just a year before he died.

This new release opens with one of Poulenc’s later works,
the Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1962)
dedicated to Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). In the Elégie (Paisiblement) the oboe opens with a four note motif before
the piano joins to develop the theme. It is a most appealing theme to which Mark
Weiger provides just the right tone and timbre. Pianist, Alan Huckleberry
provides excellent support. As the music develops, it becomes increasingly
forceful whilst alternating with quieter moments before the opening returns
with the coda bringing a quizzical conclusion.

The Scherzo (Très
animé) findsthe piano
introducing a fast and furious theme soon picked up by the oboe. There is some
brilliant interplay between these two artists with, midway, a slow, reflective
melody appearing. As the music rushes buoyantly to the coda there is some
particularly fine playing from Huckleberry.

There is a calm, gentle piano opening Déploration (Très
calme) which the oboe then develops, slowly increasing in strength, with Weiger
providing a lovely firm tone as well as moments of exquisite cool beauty.

The Sonata for Flute
and Piano (1957) is dedicated to the well-known patron of music, Elizabeth
Sprague-Coolidge (1864-1953). The Allegretto
malincolico has a light and jaunty ear-catching theme with Nicole
Esposito’s tone blending beautifully with the piano of Alan Huckleberry. There
is a fine, rather Debussyian, middle section.

The following Cantilena
brings a lovely little melody, superbly played here by Esposito who, with
Huckleberry, finds just the right tempo, allowing a forward flow with just a gently
pull to help it along. There are some exquisite little flute flourishes.

There is pinpoint accuracy from both these players in the Presto giocoso, tremendous articulation
and fluency from Esposito especially in the terrific finale.

The Sonata for
Clarinet and Piano (1962) dates from the same summer as the Sonata for Oboe
and Piano and is dedicated to the memory of the Swiss composer, Arthur Honegger
(1892-1955). The work was premiered after the composer’s death by no less than
Benny Goodman and Leonard Bernstein.

As the Allegro
tristamente opens, the clarinet of Maurita Murphy Marx enters over a spare
piano accompaniment with a jazz like display of flourishes before settling to a
fast flowing melody. Marx brings a fine tone and fluency, showing a real
affinity for Poulenc’s writing with some terrific decorations and flourishes.
There are moments of more relaxed, longer lines, beautifully played with a fine
tone and some wonderfully controlled dynamics before the coda that is full of
good humour.

The Romanza brings
forth a passionate theme to which these two artists bring so much. They have a
fine understanding for the sudden passionate turns delivering some lovely
moments.

The playful theme of the Allegro
con fuoco hurtles off with many little details finely brought out by these
two players. There are some lovely moments from the clarinet before the terrific
coda.

The Trio for Oboe,
Bassoon and Piano (1926) was dedicated to Manuel de Falla (1876-1946). Alan
Huckleberry brings a fine broad piano opening to the Presto to which the bassoon of Benjamin Coelho joins with a great
little tune. The oboe of Mark Weiger joins bringing a very fine blend of
timbres before the music speeds with rather a baroque feel, though Poulenc can’t
resist his humorous touches. These players have spot on ensemble.

The Andante brings
a really fine flowing with these players weaving some lovely sounds. They show
a fine sensibility for this music and build to a wonderful central peak in this
very fine performance.

There isa lovely,
rhythmically buoyant Rondo; quite
playful, something picked up on by these players who bring real enthusiasm to
their beautifully sprung playing.

Poulenc’s Sextet for Flute,
Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn and Piano (1939) is dedicated to the
one time curator of the Louvre, Georges Salles (1889-1966). There is a terrific
opening flourish to the Allegro vivace
with more jazz like phrases. As the music moves ahead there is a terrific
blending and weaving of sounds from these players who obviously glean great
enjoyment from playing together. The combination of instruments brings some
lovely sonorities. There is a short solo for bassoon and later a slower,
gentler section to which these players bring lovely textures. There is a wonderful moment as the music
builds when the horn can be heard over the other instruments, indeed there are a
myriad of little moments for each instrument to shine – and shine they do –
they dazzle.

The second movement, Divertissement
has a lovely, relaxed flow as each instrument slowly adds to the theme before
picking up the pace in another of Poulenc’s playful ideas with some very fine
little harmonies between instruments.

There are staccato rhythms as the Finale opens, leading to a more relaxed, flowing sequence with each
instrument providing moments of fine musicianship as they appear from the
texture, before building to a very fine coda.

Nicole Esposito returns to join Alan Huckleberry for the
brief Villanelle for Piccolo and Piano (1934)
taken from a collection of works by a number of composers called Pipeaux and dedicated to another patron
of music, Louise B. M. Dyer (1884-1962). She brings a lovely sway to which the
piano joins in this lovely, simple little tune to which these players respond
wonderfully.

The Elegy for French
Horn and Piano (1957) is dedicated to the memory of the great British horn
player, Dennis Brain and was first performed by the composer with Neill Sanders
in a BBC radio broadcast in 1958. The horn opens before the piano joins, at
which point bringing raucous phrases. The piano then leads with a motif before there
are more strident phrases from both players. The music then moves forward with
a melancholy theme to which it adds occasional intense, dynamic moments.
Kristin Thelander and Alan Huckleberry prove very fine advocates for this
haunting and unusual Elegy with Thelander providing some terrific timbres and
textures. There is a lovely broad and eloquent passage from pianist and strange
harmonies before a horn cry as the coda arrives.

The Iowa Ensemble is a group of very fine musicians who give
tremendously satisfying performances of these wonderful works.

They are very well recorded at Clapp Recital Hall,
University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA. There are excellent booklet notes from
Carla Colletti.

The ensemble have dedicated the recordings on this new
release to the memory of their oboist colleague, Mark Weiger (1959-2008).

Saturday, 1 August 2015

Kenneth Leighton
(1929-1988) was born in Wakefield, England. He was a chorister at Wakefield
Cathedral and while still at school he obtained the Licentiate of the Royal
Academy of Music (LRAM) in piano performance. He went on to study classics and
music at Oxford University before travelling to Italy to study with Goffredo
Petrassi (1904-2003). Gerald Finzi was an early supporter and friend who
performed some of his music with his Newbury String players. He later held
posts at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities.

Raphael Wallfischwww.raphaelwallfisch.comand the
late Raphael Terroni’s recording of Leighton’s Complete Chamber Works for Cello for the BMS label has now been
released byNaxoswww.naxos.com

8.571358

Leighton has been reasonably well served with recordings in
recent years but there is still much of his music that deserves to be heard. It
is good to have all of his chamber works for cello collected together on one
disc, particularly when as well performed as here.

The Partita for Cello
& Piano, Op. 35 (1959) is in three movements. Elegy opens with a sudden motif for piano before the cello
immediately joins in a passionate theme, the piano all the while adding drama. Raphael
Wallfisch brings great passion and depth to this music. It quietens to a gentle
passage where the cello provides a gentle but no less passionate theme before
rising again with passionate playing from both these fine artists. Pizzicato
cello and staccato piano chords lead to a hushed coda.

The Scherzo rises
naturally out of the preceding Elegy, soon becoming frenetic with some very
fine playing from Wallfisch and Terroni in this fast moving movement. There are
some terrific passages giving equal prominence to both players, becoming ever
more frenetic and passionate.

The theme of the final movement, Theme & Variations brings a simple motif that is developed. Not a very clearly defined theme, it has dissonances
and subtle harmonies and harmonics out of which Leighton develops Variation 1, Allegro inquieto, just as
elusive as the theme itself. Variation 2,
Ostinato brings back the passion with a deeply felt cello part and strong,
broad piano contribution before turning to moments of pizzicato and quieter
details.

Variation 3, March
soon develops with a rather fast, frantic march full of drama and angst as it
moves quickly forward with some exceptionally fine playing from both these
players before tumbling into Variation 4,
Appassionato an anxious passage for cello over a rippling piano motif.

Variation 5, Waltz
brings staccato piano chords over which the cello weaves a variation, before
the piano takes the theme against pizzicato cello, again building in passion
before the gentle Variation 6, Chorale
where the piano opens with a gentle, spacious little falling theme to which the
cello adds a sad, melancholy melody. The cello rises to a high pitch before the
piano brings back the gentle descending motif to which the cello joins, gentle,
quiet and mournful, before fading gently into silence.

This is an unusual, very appealing work given a very fine
performance by these artists.

Leighton’s Elegy for
Cello & Piano, Op. 5 (1949) was written whilst he was still at Oxford
and studying music with Bernard Rose (1916-1996). The piano opens with repeated
chords to which the cello adds a rich, deeply felt theme. The music develops
becoming more passionate before soon arriving at a lovely melody, more relaxed
and shared by both players. It develops through more anguished passages with
Leighton finding a particularly English sound world. Wallfisch’s tone is
wonderful as he extracts some very fine moments of deep feeling. Terroni brings
a terrific piano part, sometimes gentle, often firm and passionate, always
poetic, before a lovely, quiet coda.

This is a more substantial work than the title and length
indicate. It receives a wonderful performance here.

The Sonata for solo Cello,
Op. 52 (1967) was written whilst Leighton wasReader in Music at the University of Edinburgh and was first performed
by Joan Dickson at a National Gallery of Scotland lunch tine concert.

In three movements, Lament
& Pizzicato opens with a deeply felt lament, beautifully judged by
Wallfisch, bringing out every little moment of feeling. As it progresses,
little strums are added whilst the melody becomes ever more desperate with Wallfisch
digging deep. Pizzicato passages then take over developing the theme further.
There is some terrific playing, a real test of a cellist’s pizzicato technique
and musicianship. Bowed phrases return and alternate before the passionate
earlier theme, before the music slowly dies away as we are led into the second
movement.

Toccata & Cradle
Song has a fast moving Toccata
where Wallfisch displays more of his dazzling technique moving through some
virtuosic passages before slowing for the wistful Cradle Song bringing some fine double stopped textures before falling
almost to a hush. The music suddenly takes off again, though quietly, to move
to the strange little coda.

Flourish, Chaconne
& Coda opens with a spirited, finely done Flourish before it moves into the Chaconne where Wallfisch develops some really fine passages with constantly
changing ideas, expertly revealed here. The music rises in passion as the coda
is reached but ends quietly.

This sonata is full of fine ideas. It is an impressive work played
just as impressively by Raphael Wallfisch.

Alleluia Pascha Nostrum,
Op. 85 (1981) for cello and piano was premiered by Raphael Wallfisch and
Richard Markham at a BBC concert in Manchester in 1982. Deep resonant cello
chords open before slowly developing. When the piano enters it lightly points up
the theme of the cello, now in the higher register. The piano develops little
rippling phrases with much fine poetry displayed by these two artists. The music
slowly moves ahead with its exquisite, melancholy theme before finding a
lighter passage as the music grows faster with pizzicato cello phrases around
piano accompaniment. It increases in passion before falling to a quiet, slow
passage where the piano picks out the theme, the cello joining as both gently
take the theme forward. Again the music rises in passion to the upper reaches
of the cello before picking up the earlier pace as it rushes forward. The piano
falls away as the cello slows to a gentle melody with the piano returning to provide
gentle accompaniment as they quietly move to the hushed coda.

This is an impressive work, full of passion, fire and
poetry, especially as played here by these two fine artists.

It is good to have this fine recording from Raphael
Wallfisch and Raphael Terroni back in the catalogue. They receive a first rate
recording from The Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon, UK and there are informative
booklet notes.

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

The French composer Paul
Dukas (1865-1935) was not particularly prolific, his intense self-criticism
restricting the number of works he allowed to be published. His fame rests on a
single orchestral work L’Apprenti sorcier(The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)(1897).

Of his piano works there
are just seven, four of which French pianist Hervé Billaut http://hervebillaut.comhas chosen to record for Mirarewww.mirare.fr to celebrate Dukas’ 150th
Anniversary.

MIR 242

Hervé Billaut graduated from the Conservatory of Paris at
the age of sixteen with the highest distinctions, gaining numerous awards
including the Grand Prize at the prestigious Long -Thibaud Piano Competition in
1983.

Since then, he has performed all over the world, playing at
the Theatre des Champs Elysées, the Salle Pleyel in Paris or the Teàtro Real in
Madrid as well as in Latin America or in the Far East. He has worked with the
Orchestre National de France, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic and the Quebec
Symphony Orchestra and played under such conductors as John Eliot Gardiner and
Yehudi Menuhin.

This new disc for Mirare opens with Dukas’ La plainte, au loin, du faune… (The distant
lament of the faun…) Itwas
written in 1920, two years after the death of Debussy as a tribute to his late
friend. It opens with a repeated note around which the music develops. It is a
hauntingly beautiful piece which Hervé Billaut shapes quite magically. He has a
crystalline clarity to his touch with exquisite phrasing. One can just detect hints
of Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un
faune.

The Sonate en mi bémol
mineur(Sonata in E-flat minor) thatdates from 1899–1900is a substantial work lasting around
forty three minutes.

Modérément vite
has a fast, forward moving theme to which Billaut brings a real sense of
urgency. It slows to a more meditative section but then the music begins to
billow up again, this pianist providing a great feeling of drama and tension as
he heads to passages of passion and fire with some remarkably fine, virtuosic passages,
before quietening in the passages that lead to the resigned coda. In four
movements Calme, un peu lent, très
soutenu opens quietly and gently with some lovely little harmonic touches.
The music slowly finds its way around the diffuse theme with Billaut revealing
so many of Dukas’ fine ideas. He brings finely controlled dynamics. All is
beautifully phrased, quite exquisite in its gentle, yet heartfelt emotion. This
is an impressively shaped movement with a peaceful coda. Dukas develops his
material impressively in a sonata that really deserves to be heard in the
concert hall

The Vivement, avec légèreté
lifts one out of one’s seat with a dynamic, forceful opening that then fairly
rattles ahead with Billaut providing some impressively fine playing, impeccable
phrasing with a tremendously light and agile touch, bringing out so many fine
little details within the tempestuous texture. There is a lovely, thoughtful
beautifully laid out, slower central section before the opening tempo returns
to dash forwards before slowing for the lovely coda.

Resolute chords also open the third movement Très lent – Animé before developing and
slowly revealing the theme, often stormy and passionate. Billaut’s wonderful
phrasing and clarity help to reveal the many wonders in this movement. At times
one can sense Liszt (of the B minor sonata) behind certain passages as this
music moves through moments of varying tempi and demanding writing. Dukas packs
so much into this thirteen minute movement. Here is a dazzling display of
pianism yet Billaut never misses any moments of subtle beauty or expressiveness.
There is a brief quieter and slower respite that quickly leads to the coda.

Two years after the sonata,Dukaswrote the
substantial Variations, Interlude et
Finale sur un thème de Rameau. It takes the penultimate piece from Rameau’s
Suite in D from the second book of harpsichord works. It opens with a Menuet et Variations de l à XI (minuet
and eleven variations). There is a lovely little minuet that soon moves through
a series of fine variations, at turns gentle and flowing, dramatic and
forceful, harmonically forward looking, fast and light, even a rather gloomy,
dark variation where the theme is hardly recognisable. Billaut’s lovely
attention to phrasing and dynamics and, indeed, colours brings some beautifully
rewarding results before we are taken straight into the Interlude where the theme is slowly ruminated on, building as it
develops and running into the Finale,
a buoyant and jaunty variation. There is a moment of more relaxed crystalline
purity centrally before the music heads toward the coda that, nevertheless,
slows before the resolute final chords.

Prelude élégiaque (sur
le nom de Haydn) (Elegiac prelude on the name of Haydn) is built around the
musical notation representing the letters of Haydn’s name. It opens quietly as
Dukas spells out Haydn’s name with Billaut bringing a quiet dignity to the
music, a stateliness tinged with nostalgic charm. There are some lovely free,
fluent passages as Dukas develops the music around the opening notes but, overall,
it is a contemplative work, from which this pianist draws many lovely moments before
the gentle conclusion.

This is an outstanding release. The Dukas sonata is, in
particular, a very impressive work played with authority and great accomplishment
by Hervé Billaut.

The excellent recording was made in the Church of Le Château
de Rochebonne, Rhône, France where Billaut is Artistic Director of the
festival, Les Rendez-Vous de Rochebonne www.rdv-rochebonne.fr
that he founded with friends. There are informative booklet notes

The account of Sergei
Rachmaninov’s (1873-1943) departure from his native Russia on 23rd
December 1917 is rather poignant. Ostensibly in order to undertake a concert
tour he had managed to obtain the necessary documents to enable him and his
family to leave the revolution torn country. He and his family were seen off at
Petrograd railway station by the composer’s best friend, Nikolai Struve (1875-1920).
Rachmaninov’s other great friend, the opera singer Feodor Chaliapin (1873-1938)
sent a note together with a package of caviar and homemade bread. The sound of
gunfire could be heard in the distance.

At the crossing of the Finnish border the customs inspector who
checked their luggage apparently only showed interest in the children’s
schoolbooks before wishing the composer good luck on his concert tour. The road
from the Finnish to the Swedish border was undertaken by open sledge from which
they could see the sparks from the train disappearing in the distance. It was
after midnight before they caught the train to Stockholm where they spent Christmas
Eve in their hotel room. Luckily Nikolai Struve joined his family in Denmark
where a rented house was soon found for the émigré family. Rachmaninov was
never to return to the country of his birth, a loss that he never recovered
from.

Luckily some émigrés feel the loss of their country a little
less intensely. Pianist and composer, Alissa Firsova tells us in her
interesting booklet note accompanying her debut recording that her family’s
nostalgia for Russia did not affect them so deeply, England becoming their true
home.

This new release from
Vivatwww.vivatmusic.comis appropriately entitled Russian Émigrés and features piano works
by Rachmaninov from before and after his exile from his native country coupled
with works by her parents Elena Firsova and Dmitri Smirnov as well as by Alissa
Firsova herself.

VIVAT 109

On this her debut disc, Alissa Firsova plays Rachmaninov’s original 1913 version of
his PianoSonata No. 2 Op. 36. She brings a slightly quieter opening to the Allegro Agitato, creating a brief sense
of anticipation before the cascading bars that follow. Firsova carefully builds
some tremendous passages, offset with some very fine quieter moments. It is her
beautiful phrasing and flexible tempi and, indeed, fine rubato that lend so
much to this music bringing a freshness that is quite beguiling. By choosing
the original version, the music gains a more organic development with room to
breathe. Half way through, those descending bell-like phrases have a real
Russian flavour. There are many lovely details, such limpid, delicate, quieter
phrases and the run up to the coda is beautifully done.

This pianist gives us a lovely slow Non Allegro to which she brings a haunting quality. Though Firsova
takes this section slower than many, it works beautifully, revealing many
lovely details. She builds the music wonderfully towards the middle with some
fine fluent passages. Firsova’s way of
pacing and building this movement is terrific, the more passionate passages gaining
so much from the surrounding calm.

The gentle introduction to the L'istesso Tempo - Allegro Molto soon gives way to playing of stormy
virtuosity, again wonderfully paced, allowing the music to develop naturally.
There are moments of tranquillity and beautifully detailed calm with this pianist
shading and colouring phrases exquisitely before the music rises dramatically
with some wonderfully transparent textures. Firsova brings a stunningly
virtuosic coda, displaying a wonderful touch.

Whatever Rachmaninov’s reasons for making cuts, I cannot
help always wishing that pianists would play the original version more often.
Here Alissa Firsova does so in a wholly refreshing way.

Born in Leningrad composer Elena Firsova (b. 1950)http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dmitrismirnov/Elena_Firsova.html
studied music in Moscow with Alexander Pirumov, Yuri Kholopov and Nikolai Rakov
and established contact of a crucial musical importance with composers Edison
Denisov and Philip Herschkowitz, a pupil of Anton von Webern. In August 1972
she married the composer Dmitri Smirnov. In 1979, along with Edison Denisov and
Sofia Gubaidulina, she was blacklisted at the Sixth Congress of the Union of
Soviet Composers. Since 1979 she has had many performances in Europe and the
USA and received many commissions including the BBC Proms.

Elena Firsova’s For
Alissa, Op. 102 is obviously a very personal piece where she slowly reveals
a gentle theme which Alissa Firsova, using her fine touch and phrasing,
develops through a variety of passages from gentle and limpid through livelier
and more florid moments, an intensely stormy passage as well as a hushed
ponderous section where a line in the bass is overlaid with a theme for the
right hand, before we are led to the coda.

This is a most attractive work that always holds the
attention.

Dmitri Smirnov (b.
1948) http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dmitrismirnov
was born in Minsk into a family of opera singers. He entered the Moscow
Conservatoire in 1967 studying with Nikolai Sidelnikov, Edison Denisov, and Yury
Kholopov as well as Webern's pupil Philip Herschkowitz. Since 1991, Smirnov and
his wife, Elena Firsova have been resident in England. Here they have shared
the position of Composer-in-Residence at Cambridge University (St John's
College), spent a year at Dartington (1992) and were Visiting Professors at
Keele University. In 1998 Smirnov and his family settled in St Albans, near
London. Since 2003 he has taught at Goldsmiths College of Music in London. His compositions have been played by many international
conductors and orchestras.

Dmitri Smirnov’s Sonata
No. 6 ‘Blake Sonata’ Op. 157 is in two movements,opening with a Lento, a
set of variations on William Blake’s name using a musical alphabet or
encryption code created by the composer. It begins with a hushed motif gently
picked out before deep chords appear under the delicate motif as the music
becomes agitated. The violent chords fall away to allow the gentler theme to
continue, developing through some fine passages with this pianist providing
some lovely clarity of phrasing. The music builds in tempo with lower chords
bringing back a stormy nature before progressing through a gentle passage with
a sorrowful emotional edge. There are some lovely free flowing gentler
passages, rising to the top of the keyboard before moving slowly and quietly to
the coda.

Rachmaninov can almost be heard in the opening bars of the second
movement, Capriccioso before it
develops through some fast and dramatic passages. Lighter, faster passages
alternate and tussle with the dramatic music with, throughout, Alissa Firsova
bringing exceptionally fine clarity, phrasing, subtlety of colour and texture.
There are more reflective moments before the music rises with clashing
bell-like phrases but it is the quieter, gentler music that leads to the coda.

This is an impressive sonata which deserves repeated
listening.

Rachmaninov wrote
his Variations on a Theme of Corelli Op.
42 whilst staying in Clairefontaine, France. Firsova manages to bring a
rather desolate, melancholy feel to the opening Andante. As the textures
become fuller there is a warming that brings a lovely contrast. As she takes us
through these variations, she brings passages of terrific clarity, finely sprung
rhythmical phrases and often a lovely delicate touch as well as moments of powerful
incisiveness. Her phrasing is superb, illuminating so much of this music. As
she progresses through these variations, there are moments of withdrawn
melancholy as well as a terrific assurance in the broader, more confident
passages.

Firsova gives us a lovely nostalgic Intermezzo beforeleading
to a simple, yet heartrending, variation managed with a simple directness.
Later there are moments of fine tautness before she takes us back to
Rachmaninov’s exquisite nostalgia before the final statement of the theme.

Again this pianist brings a freshness to her performance with
pacing and phrasing that reveals much.

Alissa Firsova (b.
1986)www.alissafirsova.comis a composer in her own right. After winning the BBC Proms/Guardian
Young Composer competition in 2001 she received numerous commissions including
a Bach transcription for the 2010 Proms and performed by Andrew Litton and Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra live on BBC 2 and BBC Radio 3. Her music has also been performed
and toured by Imogen Cooper, Henning Kraggerud, Dante Quartet, Netherlands
Blazer Ensemble, Seattle Chamber Players, Philharmonia Soloists, Northwest
Sinfonietta and Britten Sinfonia. She was recently invited to Verbier Festival
as a composer-in-residence and future commissions include an orchestral piece
for Bergen Philharmonic.

As a pianist, Alissa gave her Wigmore Hall and Proms debuts
in 2009 and has appeared in Dartington, Cheltenham, Presteigne, Messiaen at
Southbank, Fuerstensaal Classix and Seattle festivals. She has enjoyed
collaborations with distinguished artists such as Stephen Kovacevich, Stephen
Isserlis and the Dante Quartet. Alissa recently completed the postgraduate
conducting course at the Royal Academy of Music under Colin Metters where she
also had the opportunity to work with Martyn Brabbins, Jac van Steen and Mark
Shanahan. She founded her own Meladina Ensemble in 2010 for the 60th Birthday
celebration of her mother Elena Firsova's music. In January 2012 she expanded
this into the Meladina Symphony Orchestra for a concert in Duke's Hall, where
she directed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 from the keyboard and conducted
Mahler's 4th Symphony as well as her own clarinet concerto.

Alissa Firsova’s Lune
Rouge, Op. 13 was commissioned by the Cheltenham Festival in 2005 for
Imogen Cooper and is based on her own initials and those of her parents.It opens with a gentle tinkling phrase
to which the left hand slowly adds to the theme. Soon a fuller texture arrives,
a glorious moment as the tinkling right hand motif continues and this lovely
theme moves forward, becoming ever more florid with lovely harmonies. Later lower
chords combine before the music falls back with the tinkling phrases now over a
gentle left hand that picks out the theme. But it is the right hand motif that
gently concludes.

This is a quite lovely work.

Here is a musician that has the measure of Rachmaninov, so
much so that she is able to bring a refreshing approach. The other works on
this disc show clearly what a gifted family this is. The recording is tip top
and there are excellent booklet notes from the pianist. As usual with VIVAT,
the presentation is first rate.

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
never managed to write his projected Second
Piano Concerto in B minor leaving only small fragments of ideas, since published
by the Oslo Grieg Society. These
fragments lasting around two and a half minutes have been recorded by pianist
Carl Peterssonhttp://carlpetersson.comon a new disc from Grand Pianohttp://naxosdirect.co.uk/labels/grand-piano-3330
.

Petersson also plays Helge
Evju’s(b.1942)Piano Concerto in B
minor based on Grieg’s B minor Concerto fragments as well as the famous A minor Concerto in Percy Grainger’s edition
and two of Grieg’s songs arranged for solo piano by Evju. All in all, this
proves to be a fascinating musical experience. For the concertos, Petersson is
joined by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra www.rozhlas.cz/socr/portal conducted by Kerry Stratton www.facebook.com/kerry.stratton1

GP689

Grainger first met Grieg in London in 1906 when he was
invited to spend the summer of 1907 at the composer’s villa Troldhaugen near
Bergen in Norway. Grainger was due to play Grieg’s Piano Concerto at the Leeds
Festival that year and, therefore, spent some time going over the score with
the composer making small emendations to the solo part. It is this revision by
Grieg and Grainger that is performed here.

The Allegro moderato
of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor,
Op. 16 (Revised by P. Grainger) has, from the opening timpani through the
opening piano bars, a great incisiveness. There is light, crisp orchestral
phrasing, a lovely transparency and fine detail. Carl Petersson brings a spontaneity
to his playing with Kerry Stratton and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra providing
some lovely rather leisurely orchestral passages. There is a beautifully done
cadenza, fluid with a terrific power before a fiery conclusion.

The Adagio also
brings some fine orchestral playing in the opening with lovely individual
instrumental details. Petersson’s lovely silken, fluid playing in this movement
is really rather fine.

Petersson brings
his feeling of spontaneity to the Allegro
marcato pushing ahead with abandon to great effect. There are some
particularly fine dramatic passages as well as lovely poetic moments finely
played by both soloist and orchestra. It is Petersson’s free, fluid,
spontaneous approach that brings so much to this performance, pointing up so many
details before leading to a grandiose coda where there is some pretty virtuosic
playing.

This is a particularly revealing performance with some very
fine moments.

As a prelude to Helge Evju’s Piano Concerto based on Grieg’s sketches for his Piano Concerto in B Minor, EG 120 Carl
Petersson plays the small fragments sadly lasting only around two and a half
minutes. Whilst perhaps not quite as tantalising as the purported sketches for
Sibelius’ Eighth Symphony, these fragments certainly make one wonder how Grieg
might have used them. Some certainly have a distinctive flow though, no doubt,
Grieg would have developed them to something much greater.

The opening Moderato
tranquillo of Helge Evju: Piano
Concerto in B Minor (On Fragments by E. Grieg) has a very Nordic orchestral
sound. The piano soon joins, leading to a fine melody with overtones of Grieg
appearing. The faster, skittish passages for piano recall Grieg’s A minor
concerto though there is not the same tautness of construction. The Scherzo brings a buoyant, rhythmically
jaunty theme with a cadenza that slowly picks over the ideas as though more of
a trio section, before gently and slowly leading into the Adagio. Here there is a wistful melody which, as it develops,
brings some lovely passages.

The fourth movement is a
Cadenza that opens with robust chords from this pianist before developing
through some finely intricate phrases with some of the rhythmic episodes
recalling Grieg. The Finale pushes us headlong into another rhythmic
theme before arriving at a broad romantic melody. There is a terrific coda.

Evju refers to this concerto as ‘a piece of whimsy’. It is,
in fact, an attractive way of using Grieg’s fragments within a concerto context
that many will enjoy immensely. Petersson gives a terrific performance.

As an added extra this pianist concludes this disc with two
of Helge Evju’s transcriptions for piano of songs by Grieg. There is a very
effective transcription of With a Water
Lily from 6 Songs, Op. 25 that reveals itself as a fine little piece,
almost Rachmaninovian at times. A Dream
from 6 Songs, Op. 48 has a lovely flow, finely revealed by Petersson. It moves
through some very fine passages, quite virtuosic and brilliantly played here.

I cannot imagine any Grieg enthusiast not wanting to hear
this fascinating disc finely recorded and with first rate performances from all
concerned.

The recording brings a fine amount of detail in a natural
acoustic. There are excellent booklet notes.

Boris Pigovat
(b.1953)www.pigovat.com was born in
Odessa in the USSR where he studied at the Gnessin Music Institute (Academia of
Music) in Moscow. In1988 he won the special distinction diploma at
the International Composers’ Competition in
Budapest for his composition Musica dolorosa No. 2 for Trombone Quartet.

He immigrated to Israel in 1990 where, in 1995, he was awarded
the Prize of ACUM (Israeli ASCAP) for his composition Holocaust Requiem. In 2000 he was awarded the prize of Prime
Minister of State of Israel and, in 2002, received his Ph.D. degree from
Bar-Ilan University, Israel.

Many of his works have been performed throughout the
world. His composition Massada was performed at ISCM World music days 2000 festival in
Luxembourg and at WASBE 2003 Conference in Jonkoping, Sweden. His symphonic picture Wind of Yemen was performed at the Asian Music Festival 2003 in
Tokyo and at WASBE 2009 Conference in Cincinnati (USA). Three of his pieces, Prayer, Song of the Sea and Voices of
Jerusalem, were performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall. His work Music
of Sorrow and Hope (2011) was commissioned and premiered by the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta at the IPO's 75th Anniversary Festival.

The world premiere of the Holocaust Requiem for Viola & Symphony Orchestra took place at the Memorial evening dedicated
to the Babiy Yar tragedy in Kiev, Ukraine in October 2001. In 2008 this work
was performed in Wellington, New Zealand at the Concert of Remembrance 70th
Anniversary of Kristallnacht

Boris Pigovat decided against his original idea of having a
soloist, chorus, speaker, and orchestra in his Holocaust Requiem (1994-95) preferring to allow a simplicity and
directness with a solo viola providing a ‘human voice.’

Requiem aeternam unfolds
beautifully with clarinet and low strings before rising through the strings.
This is an impressive opening. The viola enters taking the theme, soloist Anna
Serova bringing a lovely tone and fine timbres. The orchestra re-join adding a
darkness and uncertainty. A harp gently supports the viola theme before fuller
strings enter, the viola bringing some most eloquent moments, the human voice
of this tragic music. The music moves through moments of hushed calm before the
tempo picks up, pointed up by piano and percussion. The viola becomes agitated as
the orchestra leads to a full, rich dramatic passage with anguished phrases from
the viola. The orchestra reaches a peak with impassioned phrases before timpani
strokes herald the solo viola in a quieter passage. The orchestra re-joins to bring
the tragic feel of the opening.

Incisive chords from the higher strings open the Dies irae in a rising motif soon joined
by the whole orchestra as brass churn out the Dies Irae with drum strokes and timpani. All quietens to a wistful passage
as the viola joins with a quiet, rather tentative motif before becoming
increasingly anguished as the orchestra rises ever upward, the Dies Irae
plainchant is still hinted at. The music adopts a rhythmic stance with
percussion before dropping to a slow hesitant passage. There are some fine moments
from the viola in this strident anguished music.

Soon the orchestra hammers out the theme before leading on
with a tormented, anguished viola part. The orchestra heads insistently forward
occasionally falling back only to rise ever more violently forward. This is music
of some violence and impact. The piano joins with percussion to lead the music
ahead with an almost manic stance. There are discordant phrases as the music
reaches a pitch. Timpani sound out over the orchestra as the pitch is held by
high strings and brass. Low strings then chunter forward until falling into
silence, leaving just a piccolo with a lovely little motif to quietly end with
hushed rustling strings.

A gong sounds to herald a discordant Lacrimosa with a repeated motif from the viola, like a cry of
anguish. There is some simply outstanding playing from Anna Serova in this
extended, cadenza like passage. Timpani sound but the solo viola continues,
though now mournful and quieter. As the viola slowly leads on timpani quietly
and gently accompany. There is a crash of gongs that brings a momentary rise in
passion but the viola continues quietly as the gong and cymbal crashes die away.
The strings now enter with a most affecting melody, slow, quiet and reserved
and gently holding a melancholy reserve.

A lone trombone brings the Lux aeterna. The orchestra soon join keeping the melancholy atmosphere.
There is a gentle rise in passion but the restrained feel is still maintained.
The viola eventually joins and tries to add a degree of passion, picked up by
the orchestra. However the music soon drops to a hush. There are further
attempts to rise in passion but the melancholy calm is held. Later there is a
particularly beautiful passage as well as a lovely flute solo. The viola leads
to a hushed section with celeste before entering upon a quiet and gentle solo
passage, joined by the orchestra as the coda arrives.

This is a magnificent work of depth and high emotion that is
immensely rewarding.

Poem of Dawn (2010) was
written for and dedicated to the violistAnna Serova. The celeste opens with a little motif before strings and viola
enter, the viola bringing a fine melody. Together with the orchestra a fine
flowing, undulating melody is developed, Serova bringing a lovely rich tone.
There are hushed harmonics from the viola before the music picks up in dynamics
with moments of fine instrumental detail, especially for woodwind and brass,
woven into the orchestration. There are some particularly beautiful moments
when the sound billows up in the orchestra in this unashamedly romantic score. Eventually the music reaches a fine romantic
climax in the orchestra as dawn arrives. The viola returns as the music falls
back in a beautifully orchestrated, hushed passage. As the music slowly moves
forward, there is some particularly fine writing for the viola before a
beautifully hushed coda with celeste, viola and orchestra.

Pigovat is a remarkably fine orchestrator. Poem of Dawn makes a fine contrast to
the melancholy, passion and tragedy of the Requiem.
Nevertheless it is the very fine Holocaust
Requiem that I will return to most often. Anna Serova proves to be a first
class soloist with the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra under
Nicola Guerini turning in first class performances.

The recording is excellent and there are authoritative and
informative booklet notes from the composer.

Monday, 20 July 2015

George Frideric
Handel’s English Ode, L‘Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato,
HWV 55 was composed between 19th January and 4th
February 1740 during a severe winter that had caused the cancellation of a revival
of his Masque Acis and Galatea. The text is taken from Milton’s two odes L’Allegro and Il Penseroso arranged by Charles Jennens (1700-1773) who also
provided his own third part, Il Moderato.

There are no characters in L ‘Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. The characters are personifications
of emotional states and as such are sung by different soloists. Indeed the
choice of soloist has varied in later editions.

Concerto Grosso No. 1
in G Major, Op. 6, HWV 319 as, indeed, the composer would have done. The
sparer textures of the Gabrielli Players bring some particularly fine sounds,
often lithe and full of clarity. This is a particularly fine performance that
makes an ideal introduction to the main work. An absolute delight.

Part I of L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato opens
with tenor Jeremy Ovenden, bringing a fine characterisation to the recitative Hence! loathed melancholy using his fine
voice to find a variety of timbres. Soprano Gillian Webster shows her lovely,
articulate voice in the brief recitative Hence!
vain deluding Joys.

What a delight treble Laurence Kilsby is as he sings the Air
Come, thou goddess, fair and free, in
terrific voice with plenty of strength, spot on phrasing and control. Gillian
Webster returns showing exquisite control in the Air Come rather, goddess, sage and holy holding a perfect line whilst
the Gabrieli Players provide some lovely sonorities.

With the Air Haste
thee, nymph, and bring with thee Jeremy Ovenden deals with Handel’s
difficult vocal part, with its rhythmic phrasing, superbly. The Gabrieli
Consort, when they join, are spot on with their phrasing and ensemble. This
tenor brings such great variety to the Air
Come and trip it as you go.

Gillian Webster draws some lovely longer, slow phrases in the
recitative Come, pensive nun, devout and
pure along with the Gabrieli Players shaping this so well. The soprano’s
higher notes are well shaped and controlled in the beautifully paced Air Come, but keep thy wonted state. When the
choir enter they do so with such a lovely mellow sound

Both tenor and treble bring us the recitative Hence loathed Melancholy before

Gillian Webster displays a lovely slow recitative First, and chief, on golden wing. It is
finely laid out with lovely long lines before a beautiful pastoral introduction
to the Air Sweet bird, that shuns't the
noise of folly where the Gabrieli’s flautist, Katy Bircher, provides
particularly lovely trills. When the soprano enters she has a lovely dialogue
with the flute. The blend of vocal and instrumental is superb, a real
highlight.

The recitative If I
give thee honour due introduces bass, Ashley Riches who brings drama to the
part as well as to the Air Mirth, admit
me of thy crew with the natural horn of Richard Bayliss providing a
terrific opening. The Air Oft on a plat of rising ground also has
notable instrumental moments with Gillian Webster providing an exquisite
performance.

Jeremy Ovenden tenor returns for the recitative If I give thee honour due leading to
the Air Let me wander, not unseen a lovely setting with a gentle sway,
beautifully caught here by both tenor and players.

The Air & Chorus Or
let the merry bells ring round is something of a triumph, full of joy,
rhythmic buoyancy and a remarkable flexibility from Ovenden, with jingling
bells adding to the gaiety before the chorus enter to take us to a glorious
conclusion of Part I.

Paul McCreesh choses
Handel’s Concerto Grosso No. 3 in E Minor, Op. 6, HWV 321 to precede Part II. This is another buoyant and
beautifully textured concerto, these players on fine form with some great
Handelian moments.

Part II commences with the recitative Hence, vain deluding Joys where Gillian Webster is very fine,
beautifully controlled before she sings the Air But O! sad virgin, that thy power. There is some superb
instrumental playing before and during this lovely Air. The first CD concludes
with a gentle sad recitative Thus, Night,
oft see me in thy pale career in a lovely performance from Gillian Webster.

Moving to the second CD Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli
Consort and Players bring the Chorus Populous
cities please me then with bass Ashley Riches and the brass of the Gabrieli
Players adding a dramatic edge. There is a lovely flowing central choral
section. Tenor Jeremy Ovenden brings the Air There let Hymen oft appear with lovely fleet playing from the
Gabrieli Players, a lightness of texture and sung with great panache.

Gillian Webster shows just how beautiful recitative can be
in Me, when the sun begins to fling before
the Air Hide me from day's garish eye
which is simply glorious.

Jeremy Ovenden’s performance of the Air I'll to the well-trod stage anon is full of character with a sense
of great humour before the remarkable treble Laurence Kilsby returns for the
Air And ever against eating cares with
lovely sonorities from the Gabrieli Players. This treble shows such assured
singing – spectacularly fine.

Trumpets sound out magnificently to bring a terrific Air
& Chorus These delights if thou canst
give with some brilliant flexible singing from tenor Jeremy Ovenden and the
Gabrieli Consort full and incisive. Soprano Gillian Webster gives a lovely
recitative But let my due feet never fail
before the Chorus There let the pealing
organ blow with the Gabrieli Consort, a prominent part for organ and lovely
part for soprano.

Part II concludes with the Chorus These pleasures, Melancholy, give with a lovely layering of choral
textures.

To precede Part III
we have Handel’s Organ Concerto No. 1 in
B-Flat Major, Op. 7, HWV 306 which unlike the continuo organ in the main
work is played by William Whitehead on theorgan of Deptford parish church, London, England. This 2004 William Drake
organ recreates an organ of 1745, retaining some of the case and pipes. It provides
some glorious timbres and textures that, combined with the sounds of the
Gabrieli Players, are quite gorgeous. One can quite imagine Handel playing at
the early performances.

The recitative Hence!
boast not, ye profane opens Part III
wherebaritone Peter Harvey
joins showing an especially attractive voice with lovely textures. He continues
with the recitative Come, with native
lustre shine showing great flexibility and some fine feeling before the
Gabrieli Consort join to lead the music on in this lovely Chorus. Gillian
Webster is impressive in the Air Come,
with gentle hand restrain showing such a light and flexible touch.

Jeremy Ovenden gives a dramatically turned recitative No more short life they then will spend before,
with the Gabrieli Players, building the Air Each
action will derive new grace very finely.

There follows a most lovely Duet from Jeremy Ovenden and Gillian
Webster As steals the morn upon the night
with beautiful instrumental sonorities and these two soloists blending
perfectly, weaving lovely strands. Here surely is a foretaste of Handel’s soon
to be written Messiah. It is the Gabrieli Consort and Players that rise up with the organ for the final
Chorus Thy pleasure, Moderation, give
bringing a fine conclusion.

This is a performance to be reckoned with, one that is not
easily going to be matched. The soloists are excellent as is the choral and
instrumental playing.

The first class recording from three different venues is
generally seamlessly engineered except perhaps for a slightly noticeable larger
acoustic sound from Deptford parish church.

The book that the CDs are contained within is beautifully
presented with excellent and very full notes. There are full English texts.

About The Classical Reviewer

The Classical Reviewer has been involved in music for many years, as a classical record distributor, as a newspaper concert reviewer and writer of articles relating to music as well as reviewing for Harpsichord and Fortepiano magazine.

He assisted in the cataloguing of the scores of the late British composer George Lloyd and has co-authored a memoir of his friendship with the composer.

Having a particular interest in British music, he regularly undertakes talks on Elgar.

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